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Monday, August 4, 2008

A supreme representative of the run and gun genre, Metal Slug elegantly assumes you to be a weapon-crazed maniac, thus, you should have no problem whatsoever that this 1996 überclassic lacks autofire. In fact: you should be grateful!

Metal Slug is the kind of game that lacks autofire with a purpose, indeed: if you play this title in the Well Defined Chest Hair Fashion - meaning you focus as much on staying alive as you do on delivering good old destruction - then you will indeed find yourself completely changed into the very specie the game keenly invites you to be from the very start: come, feel the Metal Slug! Give in to the Weapon Psycho you secretly (?) keep around in your gaming psyche! Oh, what do I babble about - you WILL give in to it, otherwise you won't survive here for TWO nanoseconds, trust me.

Enjoy and Read on!

This classic output is a result of an integral collaboration between the D4, Nasca and SNK Corporations, taking you to an alternate universe with an - surprisingly 'nuff - alternate future. An alternate universe you may witness and play in indeed, yet, it is pretty much impossible to miss upon the evident, hilarious WW2-cartoon character the game unleashes with high octane.

The main attractions here are the superbly balanced gameplay mechanics, coming to you on demandingly steep difficulty which though always gives you the means, the paths to rely on- and to take in order to survive: surely, you could be a crazy-ass bionic mobile siege tower of mild efficiency, giving in the consecutive credit after each 5th kill you accomplish - yet the main appeal of the output is the experience it delivers when you put massive focus into your survival abilities.

Essentially, Metal Slug is a long-long foam of subtly presented, pattern-driven minigames that demand pretty much flawless, constant awareness of your surroundings if you are about to present a truly (s)killful session. Yet, mastering these patterns of course is a continuous result of being subjected to the intense assaults the Metal Slug armies and Bosses do unleash on you. Solution is evident: rely on the BESTEST Defense, which naturally is the BESTEST Offense. Finding THAT at each and every section of the game is one immense half of the even more immense global fun the title brings to the table, also it keeps our delicate gray matter and reflexes steadily occupied. As such, do yourself two favors in advance: first and foremost, definitely give Metal Slug a try, and, secondly: when you do that, be sure to play a rigorous game, refusing to get your butt kicked as often as the title invites you to do that.

- III!! WOON'T!! DIIE!!- AHHAHAHAHAHAA!!

Now, this is really the main charm of the game: as hinted, Metal Slug will give players continuous, though direly strait means to stay alive, yet, spotting and exploiting those are the frequent peak moments by which the piece exhibits furious attacks, casually asking you if you happen to have a conception of staying integral by the very next moment. Be it either way, know that Metal Slug never poses situations that doom you to inescapable death. It just likes to shock you with the impression. Use it to fuel your anger instead, Young Anakin, and deliver your final verdict to the Bosses supported by the Muhaha! of Eradication, that you are to perfect yet.

You will have nice extras at your disposal: a massive chunk of the levels is destructible, revealing instruments of amazing stopping power, yet ammunition for those is rigorously, wisely constrained. You will obtain Heavy Machine Guns, Rocket Launchers and - oh ye! oh ye! - good, old fashioned Shotguns, while the trusty butt-savers you will frequently rely on do come in the form of classic frag grenades: splash damage potential with mild amnesia as possible side effects. Grenades are offered in a similar fashion as weapons are: be sure to keep an eye on the surroundings, since elements you destruct will surely reveal stuff you will be interested in.

The game's title refers to the small vehicles scattered around the levels: these are the Metal Slugs: cute, little, yet quite usable tank-like instruments of destruction. You can occupy them, then fire two kinds of shots of considerable potential, yet Slugs are not indestructible: in fact, three immense direct shots will find the vehicle bidding farewell - you are free to drive the desperate Metal Slug into the enemy, though. To do that, just push your two main attack buttons simultaneously when the vehicle's energy is low. It is also worth noting that the Metal Slug is capable to jump/duck and fire in multiple directions, even better: you are free to offer grenades from beyond the cover of the trusty thing. Directions are of note in one particular regard yet: your hero can shoot downward at the highest steep of a jump, not from a stationary position, though. This gives a fervent visual appeal to the pace, making your protagonist look totally psyched up jumping around madly, punishing All Below.

Metal Slug delivers POWs, as well. They are the Prisoners of War, you can, and, in fact, should release them to obtain the extras they give you. These are weapons or bombs, let alone the Score they weigh in with. A nice trait of Metal Slug is the destructible hostile projectiles: you can stop almost all kinds of anti-blessings with amazing precision aiming, with some exceptions that make rigorous and rather unpleasant sense: some Bosses will deliver Plasma, for example. Not healthy for your butt at all. Not stoppable by your arsenal, either.

As it might have just occurred to you, let me deliver confirmation power: naturally, all levels - there are six of them - conclude with a Boss Face-off. These are encounters of inventive and memorable moments, while their character is heavily dependent on the status you arrive to them by clearing the level of the generic enemies. So, it is important whether you arrive to the Boss with a fully packed Rocket Launcher in hand, OR with two shells remaining in your trusty Shotgun. Indeed, the game definitely recognizes tactics and skills even in this particular regard, making it safe to say that the title is capable to offer different experiences, depending on the arsenal you choose to mainly go for- and rely on on any given stage.

The effective run and gun language the game speaks in is rather straightforward and intense. Staggeringly enough, you have a Fire button with as steep of an effectiveness as your Amazing Cosmic Trigger Finger has, meaning if you can press the button 5000 times/sec as Yngwie J. Malmsteen picks 5000 notes on his guitar by the same amount of time: THEN you will have an Advantage, and the Metal Slug baddies will fear your wrath from the very start. Let me tell you though that you only just imagined that: sad fact is that your Amazing Cosmic Trigger Finger will scream for some relief at the most dire of times, giving you the eternal Metal Slug dilemma of:

How In Hell Will I Survive THIS With Only THIRD Of My Finger Remaining?

And this is the question every player answers for herself/himself, making the game weighing in as evidently timeless run and gun classic. A definite, safe go-for it was, remaining as such with its intense snarl ever since.

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